Sunday March 17th, 2002

Dutch driver Jos Verstappen will not become the Sauber team's test driver this season, the Swiss team boss Peter Sauber has been reported as saying.

Verstappen, who was dumped by the Arrows team right before the start of the season, had visited the Sauber factory earlier this year, and he was in talks with the team, hoping to land a test drive for this season.

But Sauber has revealed that he has talked to Verstappen's manager Huub Rothengatter to tell him that a deal was not possible due to the Dutch's excessive height compared to his drivers Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld.

"I told Huub yesterday on the telephone that we can't choose for Jos," Sauber was quoted as saying on Verstappen's website. "The differences are too great and building a T-car would be without a purpose for Jos."

Rothengatter added: "We put a lot of time and work in this deal for Jos at Sauber, we have been to the factory and all but it just didn't come through. We are still very busy to get him a seat and we are with good hope. It wouldn't surprise me to see him race halfway through the season."

Published at 12:08:04 GMT